Diamond = greek word “adàmas”

Adàmas = indomitable, indestructible, invincible.

A diamond is a very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem, characterized by colour, hardness, purity, cut and weight.

DIAMONDS:DIAMONDS:

•Eternal love (“A diamond is forever” - Trilogy)

•Romanticism

•Positive memories

•Purity

•Beauty

•Richness

•Power

In the famous film “Gentlemen prefer blondes” of 1953 thanks to the song sang by the american actress Marilyn

Monroe, diamonds became “a girl’s best friends”. The song was also performed by Kylie Minogue, Nicole

Kidman in the musical “Le Mulin Rouge” and at last, recently, by Beyoncè in a publicity.

Today, they are not used to beautify only jewellery as rings, necklaces, bracelets, watches, ear-rings, but the fashion designers apply them also on the clothes, on the shoes…and on all the things that we use frequently, every day: from the tiny key cases to the famous “DIAMOND FANTASY BRA”, for the one who has six million dollar to burn!

Kylie Minogue

Beyoncè

Nicole Kidman

Diamond fantasy bra

A survey made by an “Observatory of the business of the jewellery” showed out that in the opinion of 1000 interviewed people from 30 to 60 years old:

• 78% loves diamonds

• 22% loves the other gemstones because of their colour

In particular, according to men:

•80% said that to buy a diamond is as demanding as to make an investment

In fact, the price of this small piece of igneous rocks (because it is brought on the Earth’s surface by volcanic eruptions), is too high, and its value doesn’t stop to grow up year by year.

And all the meanings that the humans associated to it have been also expressed in many films or cartoons such as:

FILMS:

•Blood diamod

•007-Una cascata di diamanti

•Diamante

CARTOONS:

•Barbie and the diamond castle

•Lupin (gentleman thief)

•Diabolik and Eva Kant (and the pink diamond)

•Biancaneve (Ehi Ho!)

Diamonds are also mentioned in a lot of SONGS such as:

•Diamante – Zucchero (dedicated to his grandmother)

•Lucy in the sky with diamonds – The Beatles (it did not represent the acronym LSD but John Lennon was inspired to write it thanks to a drawing of Julian, his son)

•Ticket to heaven – Dire Straits

•It’s a crime I never told you about the diamonds in your eyes – The Black Heart Procession

•Diamonds and rust – Judas Priest

•Some days are diamonds some days are stone – John Denver

But the one that made me think was a song of an italian singer-song-writer who was called Fabrizio De Andrè.

The title of the song is “Via Del Campo” .

At last he said:

“Dai diamanti non nasce niente, dal letame nascono i fior”

“Diamonds don’t create anything, dung allows flowers to grow”.

But, according to me, it is not true because in the past, and maybe also today, diamonds were the reason why a lot of people lost their rights and often also their life.

They are called “BLOOD DIAMONDS” or “CONFLICT DIAMONDS”:

•Milano (Italy): the United Nations stopped an Ukrainian man accused of diamonds, weapons and drugs smuggling.

•Sierra Leone (West Africa): a report made by “Le Iene” (an italian program) showed the cruelty of the soldiers who become to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Men who ignoring the authority of the UN started keeping a check on the diamond mines mutilating people (“long or short sleeves?”).

•1991: the RUF started a civil war lasted about eleven years.

Results:

-One hundred thousand dead humans

-Thousands between displaced persons and innocent amputated

or raped

-Forced recruitment of children soldier

-Privation of human being dignity

Child soldier

As all the others conflicts due to the human avidity, these one caused the reaction of the World Diamond Council (WDC), an organization of 70 members which was set up in July 2000 to symbolize the diamond companies:

“The diamond industry, through the WDC, seeks to cooperate with the United Nations and

governments to ensure that conflict diamonds are excluded from the legitimate diamond trade through implementation of an efficient and workable system of international diamond

controls.”

And the instrument used by the WDC to eradicate the conflict diamonds is the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). This certification

“requires governments to certify that shipments of rough diamonds are free from blood diamonds.”

It was launched in January 2003 and nowadays it is in force in 75 countries.

Today “more than 99% of the world's diamonds are from conflict free sources.”

So diamonds are bright, they attract your attention, they can catch the breath of a woman and also the one of a man, when he thinks to its price.

But make an intelligent choice, man: buy a blood - free diamond only when you are sure that your girlfriend is the right one!But remember:

THINGS ARE JUST THINGS AND THERE IS NOT ANY DIAMOND WHICH HAS THE POWER TO MAKE REAL

A DREAM.

Chiara Fioribello